It is known to treat meats, especially fowl, with a buffered solution of sodium citrate, marketed under the name “IONAL” to inhibit microorganism growth.
Experience has shown that Clostridium perfringens may be present in meat even after such treatment and in ready-to-eat, i.e. fully cooked meat, may develop an outgrowth.
Labbe, R. G., and C. L. Duncan (1970) Growth from spores of Clostridium perfringens in the presence of sodium nitrite. Appl. Microbiol. 19:353-359 reported that nitrite, at commercially used levels prevented outgrowth of high numbers of Clostridium perfringens spores even when nitrite was unheated and spores were held at 113° F. (45° C.) within the growth range of Clostridium perfringens. 
Vareltzis, K., E. M. Buck and R. G. Labbe (1984), Effectiveness of betalains/potassium sorbate system versus sodium nitrate for color development and control of total aerobes, Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium sporogenes in chicken frankfurters. J. Food Prot. 47: 532-536 reported that a betalains/potassium sorbate system could be used to replace nitrite in frankfurters to inhibit germination and outgrowth of Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium sporogenes. Several of the earlier studies were performed with germination and outgrowth of Clostridia at a static temperature, and not at abusive temperatures during cooling of meat products.
Blankenship, L. C., S. E. Craven, R. G. Leffler, and C. Custer (1988), Growth of Clostridium perfringens in cooked chili during cooling. Appl. Microbiol. 54: 1104-1108 and Juneja, V. K., R. C. Whiting, H. M. Marks, and O. P. Snyder. (1999), Predictive model for growth of Clostridium perfringens at temperatures applicable to cooling of cooked meat, Food Microbiol. 16: 335-349 evaluated the outgrowth of Clostridium perfringens during cooling of chili and autoclaved ground beef, respectively.